The present invention relates to a parachute.
The objective of efficient parachute design is to minimize the area of cloth used in the canopy to give a certain rate of descent for a given suspended load. Accordingly a more efficient parachute is one which has an increased load capacity for the same canopy cloth area and the same rate of desent in comparison with another parachute. THE PRIOR ART
A known form of parachute which has a load capacity increased from a conventional parachute is a ram air parachute. The first such parachute was described in the specification of U.S. Pat. No. 3,285,546, reissued under U.S. Pat. No. Re. 26,427 in the name of Domina C. Jalbert. Various proposals have been made for improving ram air parachutes, in particular as described in the specification of U.S. Pat. No. 3,724,789 in the name of Stephen L. Snyder.
The canopy of a ram air parachute includes channels or cells into which air is "rammed" in "flight". This ram air inflates the cells and causes the canopy to be shaped, in accordance with the cut of it including the cells. The shaped canopy is an aerofoil. The canopy is so arranged, under the control of the lines to the load supported thereby, that in descending under gravity it "flies" forwards. The aerofoil canopy then generates lift increasing the load capacity of the canopy.
A disadvantage of a ram air parachute can be that it does have its considerable forward velocity in flight. This restricts its usefulness in some applications, although it can be useful in other applications. When parachutists use a ram air parachute, they can brake the forward velocity by stalling the flight for landing. This requirement is disadvantageous for inanimate loads.